Johnny Depp saves his dogs from Australian death sentence

15/05/2015

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Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has managed to save his dogs from being put down by the Department of Agriculture in Australia. The two dogs in question, Pistol and Boo, were flown out of Australia on a private jet bound for the States.

Depp was accused of smuggling his two Yorkshire terriers into the country as he arrived to continue shooting Pirates of the Caribbean 5. Upon arrival, Depp allegedly failed to declare Boo or Pistol to customs officers therefore skipping tight biosecurity procedures that all pets undergo upon arriving down under.

The terriers were placed under temporary quarantine at the actor and his wife Amber Heard's home. On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce gave the couple 72 hours to get the dogs out of the country or they would be terminated. The dogs were placed safely on a chartered flight from Brisbane bound for California early on Friday just hours before the deadline expired.

Joyce explained why Depp's dogs were being sent home saying "If you start letting movie stars, even though they've been the sexiest man alive twice, to come into our nation, then why don't we just break laws for everybody? He added "It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States. He can put them on the same chartered jet he flew out on to fly them back out of our nation".

A tweet from Joyce on Friday morning simply read "Dogs gone". Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton explained why the issue was being treated so seriously saying "All animals being brought into Australia must have an import permit, must meet Australia’s strict, science-based import conditions and must be declared on a cargo manifest."